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Camusswearingsweatshopsswimmingswimming pigssynchronicityt shirtstable gamestattoostax creditstax fairnesstax incentivestax scamtax shifttaxcutsteachingteachings of Jesustearsteasingteenagersteethtent citiestestosteronetetrapodsthat's like your opinion manthe brainthe Axial agethe Big Bangthe Black Deaththe Doorsthe Dudethe Good Samaritanthe Harrowing of Hellthe Public Health Turkeythe commonsthe devilthe economythe futurethe holythe man in the arenathe market as godthe meaning of lifethe mediathe mindthe possum hypnotistthe richthe sacredthe souththe suckthe very richthe welfare queentheodicytheoriesthings to dothinkingthird policiesthreat assessmentthreatstiarastime limitsto be or not to betoadstobaccotoddlerstoiletstool uisng animalstoolstop news storiestouchtough choicestoystrade dealstraffic safetytrainstransparencytransparent eyeballtransportationtraumatic brain injuriestriceratopstrickle down economicstrusttubewormstuitiontweetstyphustyrannyugly animalsultimatum gameuncivil discourseunconsciousunemployment benefit cutsunemployment rateunion membershipunion organizinguniverseunpredictabilityurban agricultureuterus policeutopiavaluesvampire slayingvampire squirrelsvelociraptorsverdictveterans. sexual orientationvirtuevolcanoesvoter IDvoter guidevultureswalking cactuswallswalruseswar on terrorwaspswastewasting moneywater crisiswater pollutionwater qualitywater quality healthwater rollbackweatherizationweavingweird animalsweird life formswelcome to hellwelfare dependencywhite supremacist groupswhite supremacistswhoopie cushionswidowswildlifewincheswinewinningwinning and losingwinter stormwomen's healthwomen's suffragewood stoveswooly rhinoswordswords to live byworkers' rightsworkforceworking classworkplace fairnessworld food crisisworld hungerworrywowyawningyoung Americansyoung adultsyoung peopleyoung workersyouth leadership developmentzanshinzebra musselszingerszombie antszombie family stickerszombie feverzombie nativity scenezombie outbreak response teamzombie swagzucchiniThe Goat Ropen. 1. Appalachian slang for a real mess, a situation out of control. Example: the world we live in. 2. a blog devoted to current events, economic and social justice, and culture in West Virginia, the US, and around the world.http://goatrope.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mark)Blogger3004125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-4844716926323873127Mon, 11 Dec 2017 14:56:00 +00002017-12-11T09:56:10.439-05:00#taxscamdrug treatmenthypocrisyironyMedicaidopioid addictionopioid crisistax cuts for the richtax reformThat fuzzy line again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nbOXBrvCYNM/Wi6cgUKyNsI/AAAAAAAAFWk/wx87N_ey6L4AvIrZ9Mi5uTUi6ZHxDvioQCLcBGAs/s1600/lily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nbOXBrvCYNM/Wi6cgUKyNsI/AAAAAAAAFWk/wx87N_ey6L4AvIrZ9Mi5uTUi6ZHxDvioQCLcBGAs/s1600/lily.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />There has been story after story lately of politicians pretending to care about West Virginia's--and the nation's--opioid crisis.<br /><br />Unfortunately, these are the same politicians who have been working night and day to reduce or eliminate the kind of treatment recovering addicts need by repealing the ACA and/or pushing through a #taxscam bogus tax reform bill that gives massive cuts to the rich while crowding out other kinds of federal funding. Like addiction treatment and Medicaid expansion.<br /><br />Once again, I have trouble distinguishing irony and hypocrisy. But I'm leaning toward the latter.<br /><br />Anyhow, here's an op-ed by a friend of mine explaining <a href="https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/gazette_opinion/op_ed_commentaries/kat-stoll-if-tax-bill-leads-to-spending-cuts-it/article_e77869e7-0e87-5786-8a4a-26c836b5cb20.html">why you can't have it both ways.</a><br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/12/that-fuzzy-line-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-2450676533485895100Fri, 08 Dec 2017 02:02:00 +00002017-12-07T21:04:07.524-05:00#taxscamsenate tax billtax cutstax reform#TaxScam revisitedIt looks like America’s ruling elite has decided to give itself a huge raise and the rest of us are going to pay for it in one way or another. The U.S. Senate’s “tax reform” bill is one that is likely to affect Americans for years. Even decades. Not in a good way.<br /><br />Here are 10 things we need to know about the highly partisan version of the bill that’s been pushed through the Senate.<br /><br />1. President George W. Bush passed massive tax cuts and what we got was ... permanent prosperity? Oh, wait, it was the biggest crash since the Great Depression. I’m not saying the tax cuts were the main cause of the crash, although they did contribute to the financial bubbles that led to it. But it’s obvious that tax cuts don’t guarantee growth or prosperity or economic stability.<br /><br />2. This is a Trojan horse. The massive transfer of wealth to those who already have it will eventually crowd out funding for things like Medicare, Medicaid, student aid, food security, housing, etc.<br /><br />3. There are plenty of “starve the beast” ideologues who want that to happen. They hope a crisis will force cuts to domestic programs.<br /><br />4. If that sounds paranoid, consider that President Donald Trump has promised to pursue welfare “reform” next, despite the fact that it was already drastically reformed over 20 years ago. This time around, the definition of welfare is going to be broadened to include any form of federal spending that goes to working people, seniors, kids or the poor.<br /><br />5. Then there’s the whole thing about adding $1.5 trillion-plus to the deficit for no good reason.<br /><br />6. Whatever cuts some middle class people will get is a sugar high. Those cuts are temporary, while cuts to corporations and the wealthy are permanent.<br /><br /><br />7. Due to the tilt of the programs towards the wealthy, people in 19 states, including West Virginia, will eventually pay more in 2027 than they do under current law.<br /><br />8. Then there’s the consequences of repealing the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which will greatly increase the number of uninsured Americans and drive up costs for everyone else. Trump has also pledged to pursue the further dismantling of recent health care gains.<br /><br />9. The whole thing is based on flaky economics. A University of Chicago poll of economists found that only 2 percent of those polled thought the “reform” package would boost the economy; 36 percent were uncertain, 33 percent disagreed and another 19 percent strongly disagreed. There was, however, pretty universal agreement that it would blow up the national debt.<br /><br />10. Over the last few decades, the U.S. has moved dramatically away from democracy and towards oligarchy and plutocracy, defined as effective rule by a wealthy few. This is likely to seal the deal.<br /><br />Given all that, golly, what could possibly go wrong?<br /><br />(This item appeared in <a href="https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/gazette_opinion/op_ed_commentaries/rick-wilson-what-the-senate-is-selling-us-gazette/article_bb28805b-5b34-5804-b869-54427e3f74d7.html">the Gazette-Mail</a> this week. It may resemble an earlier blog post.)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/12/taxscam-revisited.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-8428921412305926410Mon, 04 Dec 2017 18:36:00 +00002017-12-04T13:36:39.055-05:00#taxscamtax cuts for the richtax reformYes, it's that badIf you want to learn more about how bad the #taxscam aka "tax reform" bill that just passed the US Senate is, you can check <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/business/tax-bill-offers-last-minute-breaks-for-developers-banks-and-oil-industry.html">this news story,</a> <a href="https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/gazette_opinion/op_ed_commentaries/ted-boettner-don-t-believe-the-magic-math-on-gop/article_30fc3158-6ec8-54f6-95f4-8c962575d799.html">this Gazette-Mail op-ed</a> and<a href="http://familiesusa.org/press-release/2017/senate-passes-bill-takes-health-care-millions-families-and-cuts-funding-medicare"> this statement from Families USA.</a>&nbsp;Short version: pretty damn.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/12/yes-its-that-bad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-6315020989047315833Wed, 29 Nov 2017 12:08:00 +00002017-11-29T07:08:20.065-05:00#taxscamACA repealdebtdeficitsstarve the beasttax cuts for the richtax reformtax scamTaxScam in a nutshellHere's what I think we need to know about the highly partisan version of tax "reform" now being pushed through the senate:<br /><br />1. George W. Bush passed massive tax cuts and what we got was....permanent prosperity? Oh, wait, it was the biggest crash since the Great Depression. I'm not saying the tax cuts were the sole cause, although they did contribute to the financial bubbles that led to it. But it's obvious that tax cuts don't guarantee growth or prosperity or economic stability.<br /><br />2. This is a Trojan horse. The massive transfer of wealth to those who already have it will eventually crowd out funding for things like Medicare, Medicaid, student aid, food security, housing etc.<br /><br />3. There are plenty of "starve the beast" Republicans who want that to happen. They hope a crisis will force cuts to domestic programs.<br /><br />4. Then there's the whole thing about adding $1.5 trillion+ to the deficit for no good reason.<br /><br />5. Whatever cuts some middle class people will get is a sugar high. Those cuts are temporary, while cuts to corporations and the wealthy are permanent.<br /><br />6. Due to the tilt of the programs towards the wealthy, people in 19 states, including West Virginia, will eventually pay more in 2027 than they do under current law.<br /><br />7. Then there's the consequences of repealing the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which will greatly increase the number of uninsured Americans and drive up costs for everyone else.<br /><br />I mean, golly, what could possibly go wrong?<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/taxscam-in-nutshell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-8176688750162492312Mon, 27 Nov 2017 01:46:00 +00002017-11-26T20:46:20.492-05:00bearsLa Cabritaliving in treesPope FrancisThe Walking DeadzombiesThoughts on seeing bears<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9aZLmD20gP0/WhtqfYSsMzI/AAAAAAAAFWU/V6E1gS53uF0WO_SjeRPaGdfCphAqTSKnwCLcBGAs/s1600/bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="220" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9aZLmD20gP0/WhtqfYSsMzI/AAAAAAAAFWU/V6E1gS53uF0WO_SjeRPaGdfCphAqTSKnwCLcBGAs/s1600/bear.jpg" /></a></div>My daughter, sometimes referred to here as La Cabrita, is a seriously educated woman. As in doctorate. Most of her views on the world are fairly conventional, with a few exceptions.<br /><br />One such exception is her oft stated conviction that a zombie apocalypse on the order of The Walking Dead could actually occur.<br /><br />In her words, "that **** could really happen!"<br /><br />( Another, sad to say, is her belief that living in trees would be a solution to that problem. But that's a digression...)<br /><br />Her other main odd belief is that bears are intelligent, consciously malevolent evil creatures which exist only to do humanity harm.<br /><br />I disagree with this assessment, thinking of them more as wild, large and somewhat dangerous dog cousins with strange sleeping habits which should be left alone but which are otherwise cool.<br /><br />Although the black bear is the state animal of West Virginia, I haven't seen a whole lot of them here. My closest views were had in Washington state, Vermont, and Florida.<br /><br />Now there's a triangle. Talk about going to extremes...<br /><br />My closest encounter happened while walking with the Spousal Unit and dogs in the Vermont woods, when we saw one coming down from a tree.<br /><br />This happened at the same time as Pope Francis' visit to the US. My mind naturally ran to two common rhetorical questions: "Is the pope Catholic?" and "Does a bear relief itself in the woods?"<br /><br />I took that as a sign from above and made it a point to try to answer every question in the affirmative for the next month or so.<br /><br />Most recently, I was jogging on a trail in Florida that ran by the edge of the woods. The trail ran for about .75 miles long and I was on lap two or three when I saw something in the distance. I asked myself whether that bush or tree was there on the last lap. When I got closer, I saw it standing on all fours, kind of like pictures I've seen or gorillas. Then it got up and walked away.<br /><br />Florida bears have a reputation, justified in my opinion, of being pretty chill. I kept running the loop but reversed course in order to give it time to get away--and not to push my luck.&nbsp;<br /><br />Still, there was a feeling of awe, fascination and a bit of an instinctive spine chill at seeing such a magnificent creature.<br /><br />I hope I get the chance to feel that again. From a suitable distance.<br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/thoughts-on-seeing-bears.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-1871095368701423956Wed, 22 Nov 2017 22:34:00 +00002017-11-22T17:34:28.180-05:00annual Thanksgiving possum recipeAnnual Thanksgiving Possum Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bmkLIEfTfrI/WhX5qavDr1I/AAAAAAAAFWE/Em8BMGeywDksgxsXBz7jES-jTdMs4Kk1gCLcBGAs/s1600/possum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bmkLIEfTfrI/WhX5qavDr1I/AAAAAAAAFWE/Em8BMGeywDksgxsXBz7jES-jTdMs4Kk1gCLcBGAs/s1600/possum.jpg" /></a></div>It's Thanksgiving once again and that means one thing here at Goat Rope: it's time for the Annual Thanksgiving Possum Recipe.<br /><br />I found one on the web that seems particularly interesting, to wit, Cajun possum chili, which is said to be NUCLEAR HOT!!<br /><br />(I couldn't vouch for the truth of this since I don't eat possum, but&nbsp;that does sound plausible. Here's the recipe (and if you click <a href="http://bertc.com/subfive/recipes/possum.htm">here</a> you can find two others at the same site). Enjoy!<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Cajun Possum Chili - NUCLEAR HOT !!! <br /><br /> Ingredients: <br /> Tomatoe Sauce (depends on possum) <br /> 1 tsp.-1 cup Chili Powder (Depends on Taste and possum) <br /> 1 Large possum or 3 small (If you ran over the possum better make it 4) <br /> 1 large pot or two large ones if the first isn't enough. <br /> 5-10 chili peppers (depends on taste and possum) <br /> 5-10 red peppers (depends on taste and possum) <br /> 5-10 jalapenio peppers (depends on taste and possum) <br /> How ever much Cayenne Pepper you like, it depends on your taste and possum. <br /> 1 tsp. Black Pepper <br /> a pinch of salt <br /> Chili Beans for extra flavor <br /> And whatever other ingredients that are hot and spicy you would like to add. <br /><br /> Directions: <br /> 1. Skin possum(s) <br /> 2. Remove internal organs, head, claws, and bones. There is no flavor or use for these. But if you want to add them, Go ahead. <br /> 3. Put some tomatoe sauce in the pot(s). Then add the possum. <br /> 4. Chop peppers <br /> 5. Skip step four if you don't want chopped peppers; it doesn't matter. <br /> 6. Put the rest in and let set for a long dang while. <br /> 7. Before serving make sure you have enough bread, Milk, and Toliet paper for after dinner. <br /> 8. Serve. Enjoy <br /> 9. Race for bathroom. Whoever is first will make a large stench. Have enough air freshner. <br /> Serving size of Meal-depends on how much you put in and on the possum. <br /><br /> Warning-You're a redneck if you try this. (Either that or you like really hot chili.) May cause sudden urges to go to the bathroom. May cause burned tongues and mouths. May cause severe indigestion!! ---Anonymous</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/annual-thanksgiving-possum-recipe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-5465537506815010763Tue, 21 Nov 2017 18:49:00 +00002017-11-21T13:49:49.786-05:00child careeducationEITCHerald-Dispatchlow wage jobslow wage workersMedicaidpovertyshared prosperityRaising the floor<div class="subscriber-preview">Recently, I worked on a report about the state of West Virginia's low-wage workers with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Some results weren't surprising. The number of low-wage jobs, defined in this case as 150 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of two ($11.59 per hour or under $24,108 per year) has grown by 14.5 percent since 2001, while employment in high wage industries has declined by 2.8 percent.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-preview">Key industries employing low-wage workers include grocery stores, retail, food services and personal care for children or the elderly. Nearly one in four West Virginians works at such a job. For many, these jobs are no longer a stepping stone to a better gig but rather a lifelong path. Fifty-five percent of the state's children (200,900 in all) live in a household with at least one low-wage worker.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">While most such workers in West Virginia are white, African-Americans are more likely to earn low wages. The rates are 23 and 31 percent, respectively. Fifty-six percent of low-wage workers are women. Younger workers are more likely to earn low wages than those in their prime. Rates shoot up again for workers 65 and older. Still, nearly half of all workers over 35 have low-wage jobs.<br /><br /></div><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center hidden-sm hidden-md hidden-lg"><div class="tnt-ads oas-ad" data-oas-size="[728,500]" data-oas-slot="Right1" data-refreshable="true" id="fixed-big-ad-top-mobile"></div></div><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center hidden-xs"><div class="tnt-ads oas-ad" data-oas-size="[728,500]" data-oas-slot="Left1" data-refreshable="true" data-rendered="no" id="fixed-big-ad-top-asset"><div id="oas_Left1"></div></div></div><div class="tncms-region hidden-print" id="tncms-region-article_instory_top"></div><div class="subscriber-only">One major factor affecting wage levels is, unsurprisingly, educational attainment. Fully 44 percent of those without high school diplomas earned low wages. For high school graduates and those with some college, the rate dropped to 28 percent. Rates of low earners dropped to 12 percent for people with associate's degrees and less than 10 percent for those with a bachelor's degree or more.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">One obvious policy change to raise earnings and our state's abysmal statistics would be to put more resources into affordable post-secondary education rather than unproductive tax cuts. Indeed, cuts enacted over the last 10 years were more than enough to pay tuition and fees for a public college education for every student in the state.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">It's pretty clear that anything that helps people move from low to living wages - or keeps people from sinking lower -would strengthen West Virginia's economy, boost demand for goods and services provided by local businesses, and help increase the state's chronically low workforce participation rate.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">Some other steps in that direction include:<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">*Protecting West Virginia's Medicaid program. This federal-state partnership provides care to nearly one out of three West Virginians, including 170,000 people from working families earning under 138 percent of the federal poverty level. It also supports thousands of jobs in health care and other sectors. Losing that would be a huge hit to the state's economy and drive thousands of West Virginians into deeper levels of poverty and misery.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">*Enacting a refundable state earned income tax credit (EITC). So far 29 states and the District of Columbia have enacted such credits to help people build assets, pay off debts and offset the impact of regressive taxes. The EITC is a proven tool to fight poverty, increase labor-force participation and help workers in low-wage jobs afford necessities. This is no radical idea - recently, the WestVirginia Bankers Association came out in support of a state EITC.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">*Protecting and enhancing child care assistance. Child-care assistance is crucial to helping low-income families maintain employment, stay off public assistance and have higher earnings. Without assistance, it is simply unaffordable, forcing workers to choose between child care and a job. Increasing the eligibility level for families from 150 percent to 200 percent of the poverty line could reduce the "cliff effect," which discourages parents from advancing in their jobs and careers.<br /><br /></div><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center hidden-sm hidden-md hidden-lg"><div class="tnt-ads oas-ad" data-oas-size="[300,250]" data-oas-slot="Right2" data-refreshable="true" id="fixed-big-ad-middle-mobile"></div></div><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center hidden-xs"><div class="tnt-ads oas-ad" data-oas-size="[300,250]" data-oas-slot="Left2" data-refreshable="true" data-rendered="no" id="fixed-big-ad-middle-asset"><div id="oas_Left2"></div></div></div><div class="tncms-region hidden-print" id="tncms-region-article_instory_middle"></div><div class="subscriber-only">*Raising and indexing the minimum wage. In 2014 West Virginia passed legislation to increase its minimum wage to $8.75 per hour, $1.50 more than the $7.25 federal rate. That was a step forward but is still not a living wage. It's high time for another hike, which could be phased in over several years and indexed to the rate of inflation.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">*Preserving and expanding early childhood education and voluntary home visiting programs. Evidence suggests there is a critical period in early childhood, roughly equivalent to the first 1,000 days of life, which can make a huge difference in cognitive, emotional, social and physical development. These in turn can impact health and economic well-being across the lifespan.<br /><br /></div><div class="subscriber-only">Bottom line: Workers in low-wage jobs constitute a large and important segment of West Virginia's population. These are the people who do some of the most important work in our communities, such as caring for children and the elderly. The steps we take to help them improve their economic status is critical to ensuring a better future for all West Virginians.<br /><br />(This appeared as an op-ed in Sunday's <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/opinion/rick-wilson-wv-can-take-steps-to-improve-wage-picture/article_57e9d199-feff-5bf5-ba63-807c4c32022a.html">Huntington Herald-Dispatch</a>.)<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/raising-floor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-8918300484211345934Thu, 16 Nov 2017 13:58:00 +00002017-11-16T08:58:06.556-05:00AeschylusAgamemnonAtreusGreek mythologyMartha NussbaummiasmaPelopsTantalustraumaviolenceMiasmaRecent acts of senseless violence and other forms of trauma reminded me of the ancient Greek idea of miasma, which means something like pollution. The religion writer Karen Armstrong talks about it as a contagious power that “has an independent life of its own.”<br /><br />Think of it as hazmat.<br /><br />The Greeks seemed to believe that every act of violence, hubris, cruelty or excess unleashes a bit of miasma on the world. Often the people who unleash it minimize it or think they can control it. They can’t. Miasma isn’t loyal. It bounces. And like a toxic chemical or an infectious disease, it can leak into the atmosphere and water and have effects far beyond the initial point of infection.<br /><br />Miasma also doesn’t seem to respect borders — even those with walls — or to have an expiration date. The effects of the spiral of violence and trauma (miasma) can continue across continents and generations.<br /><br />The child who is abused or witnesses abuse may one day abuse. The victim may one day become a perpetrator. The trauma done to a group or individual can have effects across time and space. The eventual target of all this may be random and innocent. It may be us.<br /><br />One strand of Greek mythology follows the thread of miasma across generations in one family. It started with Tantalus, who for a time enjoyed the favor of the gods. He tried to trick them at a feast by feeding them the flesh of the shoulder of his son Pelops. For this he was punished in the underworld by eternal hunger and thirst. Hence the word “tantalize.”<br /><br />Pelops, who was restored by Zeus, would later murder his would-be father in law by cheating in a chariot race. He also murdered the person who helped him do the deed. Not surprisingly, the victim cursed him with his dying breath. The curse would play out in the future.<br /><br />Pelops’ sons were Atreus and Thyestes. They murdered their own half-brother but later had a deadly quarrel, which ended in a horrific act of child murder and cannibalism. Each brother had a son who continued the curse and the conflict in the next generation.<br /><br />Agamemnon, son of Atreus, led the Greek forces to invade Troy. He sacrificed his own daughter Iphigenia to gain favorable winds for the fleet. While he was gone, his wife Clytemnestra became the lover of Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, who was born of an incestuous union.<br /><br />Yeah, it was a mess of extra-biblical proportions.<br /><br />Agamemnon was murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus when he returned from the destruction of Troy. His son Orestes murdered his mother and her lover and was pursued by the Furies, dark underworld deities who punished crimes against blood kin.<br /><br />On and on, one thing after another. Kind of like world history.<br /><br />In the end, as the Greek tragedian Aeschylus tells it, it took divine intervention, rational deliberation and democracy to bring the awful cycle to an end.<br /><br />The way things are going, we may need all that as well.<br /><br />The American philosopher Martha Nussbaum finds some lessons for us in all this:<br /><br />“Greek tragedy shows good people being ruined because of things that just happen to them, things that they do not control. This is certainly sad; but it is an ordinary fact of human life, and no one would deny that it happens ... . Tragedy also shows something more deeply disturbing: it shows good people doing bad things, things otherwise repugnant to their ethical character and commitments, because of circumstances whose origin does not lie with them.”<br /><br />Things happen to us and to others. We react, not always in the best ways. We get caught up in situations beyond our direct control. The chain of events gets longer. Dominoes fall. Which means more miasma.<br /><br />Recent research in the field of public health shows that the long-lasting effects of the trauma of things that happened to us or that we get caught up in aren’t confined to mythology. They can occur in much more ordinary ways — often in childhood — but still have long lasting effects.<br /><br />That’s the bad news. The good news is that trauma isn’t destiny and that there are ways we can help those who’ve suffered from it and reduce the damage that it can do now and in the future. Often these are as simple as a positive relationship with a responsible adult.<br /><br />I think it would be a huge step forward for us all if we became more conscious of the ways that the effects of trauma can spiral out over time and space — and if institutions such as schools, health care providers, public services, law enforcement, courts and corrections institutions became more trauma informed and adjusted their practice accordingly.<br /><br />As Albert Camus put it, “We all carry within us places of exile, our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves and others.”<br /><br />(This appeared as an <a href="https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/gazette_opinion/op_ed_commentaries/rick-wilson-a-look-at-today-s-world-through-greek/article_7ace2ca1-be7b-5270-af6d-33cd96c5a804.html">op-ed</a> in yesterday's Gazette.)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/miasma_16.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-8934750526431924946Mon, 13 Nov 2017 17:01:00 +00002017-11-13T12:01:40.088-05:00Charleston GazetteChina EnergyfrackingFuture Fundhorizontal drillingMarcellus Shalenatural gasWheeling IntelligencerGame changer?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dvc_bRhLTQ0/WgnLfe5_AVI/AAAAAAAAFV0/Hu_fx1SflNUVaqL4ccwfqfR4-QzOP7NEACLcBGAs/s1600/gas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dvc_bRhLTQ0/WgnLfe5_AVI/AAAAAAAAFV0/Hu_fx1SflNUVaqL4ccwfqfR4-QzOP7NEACLcBGAs/s1600/gas.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br />The big news in WV these days is a "game changing" deal with China Energy that could mean $83 billion in investment around shale gas and related developments. I found two different but interesting takes on this news from different parts of the state.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/gazette_opinion/op_ed_commentaries/s-thomas-bond-another-century-of-wv-as-a-mineral/article_7ba16b9c-7aee-54bd-a227-2a3c46e77f26.html">This Gazette piece</a> warns that the deal could doom WV to another century as a mineral colony and could have negative environmental impacts. Closer to the likely point of impact, I found this piece from the <a href="http://wvpress.org/breaking-news/opinion-china-energy-investment-wv-second-chance-get-right/">Wheeling Intelligencer</a>, which is generally pretty conservative, to be interesting. While not criticizing the deal as such, it warns about the dangers of continuing to rely on one major industry, even a relatively new one.<br /><br />It even calls for making the Future Fund, which is only on the books at this point, a reality. The idea behind a Future Fund is to set aside a portion of severance taxes to create a permanent source of wealth for WV.<br /><br />I especially like the idea of investing more in education, or "preparing our children for careers in which they, not anything pulled from the earth, were viewed as the valuable resource."<br /><br />In any case, I hope WV doesn't make the same mistake in the century to come that it did in the last one.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/game-changer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-2053465950626459494Tue, 07 Nov 2017 21:02:00 +00002017-11-07T16:02:35.883-05:00nightrandom thoughtsspidersThoreauwalkingIn the forest of the night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Hh94GqLHqI/WgIdz44SSsI/AAAAAAAAFVk/c892BpYp7203tvR4bCMJNl1HfzGn0v2agCLcBGAs/s1600/night%2Bspider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Hh94GqLHqI/WgIdz44SSsI/AAAAAAAAFVk/c892BpYp7203tvR4bCMJNl1HfzGn0v2agCLcBGAs/s320/night%2Bspider.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><i>Spider, spider burning bright.</i>..<br /><br />Last night, I took the dog on a walk in the woods while wearing a headlamp. It had been raining, so there was water on the grass. As we trudged up and down the hill, I saw what looked like a skyfil&nbsp; of little diamonds moving on the ground. A closer look revealed, a closer look revealed a multitude of spiders busy going about their nocturnal business. There had to be thousands of them.<br /><br />I guess I knew that there were spiders on the hill. And I guess I didn't expect them to go to be at sundown. Still, there was all this activity going on all around me that I'd never been aware of before.<br /><br />I think that's a pretty good metaphor for life. There's stuff we don't have a hint about going on all around us all the time. Thoreau said "Only that day dawns to which we are awake" I guess something like that is true of the night as well.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/in-forest-of-night.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-650174986279963633Mon, 06 Nov 2017 16:13:00 +00002017-11-06T11:13:37.476-05:00miasmaviolenceMiasma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8-xRaGw3JfM/WgCGXc3CbCI/AAAAAAAAFVU/OIoDP6xzjyEE1nGop5WcRyqbxtkiuHPEQCLcBGAs/s1600/miasma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="270" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8-xRaGw3JfM/WgCGXc3CbCI/AAAAAAAAFVU/OIoDP6xzjyEE1nGop5WcRyqbxtkiuHPEQCLcBGAs/s1600/miasma.jpg" /></a></div>The tragic shooting in Texas and other recent acts of violence made me think of an ancient Greek idea about miasma, which means something like pollution.&nbsp; In one of her books, the religion writer Karen Armstrong talks about it as a contagious power that “has an independent life of its own.” Think of it as hazmat.<br /><br />I think that every act of violence, excess, hubris, moral blindness and such unleashes a bit of miasma on the world. The people who unleash it think they can control it, but they can’t. Miasma isn’t loyal. Like a toxic chemical or infectious disease, it leaks into the air and water and can have effects far beyond the initial point of infection.<br /><br />It also doesn't seem to have an expiration date. The child who sees abuse may one day abuse. The victim may one day become the perpetrator. The trauma to an individual or group can have effects far across time and space. The target may be random. It may be us.The less we use it, the less pollution we release into the world, the better off we all are.<br /><br />Unfortunately there's a lot of miasma out there. More every day.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/miasma.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-1654924888208089159Wed, 01 Nov 2017 17:01:00 +00002017-11-01T13:01:47.619-04:00Day of the DeaddeathHalloweenholidayslifeA holiday we could use<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K9ZzZEI7s1c/Wfn8xgQ6dlI/AAAAAAAAFVE/PiGhAqL7d74WbwmoIJUalR2yDdkOx3LQQCLcBGAs/s1600/day%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bdead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K9ZzZEI7s1c/Wfn8xgQ6dlI/AAAAAAAAFVE/PiGhAqL7d74WbwmoIJUalR2yDdkOx3LQQCLcBGAs/s320/day%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bdead.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>A Mexican custom of which El Cabrero is a big fan of is the Day of the Dead, which corresponds with All Saints Day in the Church calendar. Halloween, you recall, is All-Hallows-Eve or the day before. Similar customs are observed elsewhere, but it is the official Goat Rope verdict that this is the coolest.<br /><br />The celebration likely has pre-Christian roots. During the Aztec month of Miccailhuitonli (say that 10 times while spinning around), there was a festival presided over by the "Lady of the Dead" which was dedicated both to children and the dead. Originally, this was celebrated in the summer, but there was an understandable post-colonial shift.<br /><br />Now the festivities usually continue for the first two days of November and include acts that symbolically welcome the dead back into their homes and visiting family graves. There's special food including "pan de muerto" or bread of the dead. Family altars and gravesides are decorated with religious objects and symbolic offerings of food flowers and even alcohol and cigarettes.<br /><br />I think the basic idea is right on, i.e. that the living and the dead are connected. That idea is enshrined in the ancient creeds of Christianity, which speak of "the communion of saints."<br /><br />Maybe that's because the dead aren't quite as dead as we tend to think or the living aren't as alive as we tend to think. I'll leave that to the reader's discretion...<br /><br />(This came from a blog post here from 10 years ago. Recycling.)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-holiday-we-could-use.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-8074071835414838962Tue, 31 Oct 2017 01:10:00 +00002017-10-30T21:10:45.054-04:00ArpaddogspoultrypredatorsTurk LurkturkeysRIP Turk Lurk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kSAk4yDRXy0/WffMSE-hSxI/AAAAAAAAFUo/rZ3z5ne6rysAHP3lXkU-ehuqeuhumG5KQCLcBGAs/s1600/turklurk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kSAk4yDRXy0/WffMSE-hSxI/AAAAAAAAFUo/rZ3z5ne6rysAHP3lXkU-ehuqeuhumG5KQCLcBGAs/s1600/turklurk.jpg" /></a></div>It is with sadness that I report the passing of Turklurk, the one remaining turkey on Goat Rope Farm due to natural causes...as in a predator. I found him this afternoon on returning from a long day. Not sure when the crime took place or who the culprit was. Whether coyote or raccoon or whatever it didn't eat much, which is to say a lot went to waste.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BVNWftp4HwA/WffNNeX0deI/AAAAAAAAFU0/hngP9L9AlHgEdBqzWG3cL_KQhlRaZXdogCLcBGAs/s1600/st%2Bpod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BVNWftp4HwA/WffNNeX0deI/AAAAAAAAFU0/hngP9L9AlHgEdBqzWG3cL_KQhlRaZXdogCLcBGAs/s1600/st%2Bpod.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />This never would have happened when Arpad the Magnificent, protector of poultry, was alive.<br /><br />The life lesson here, apropos of nothing is that when the good guys go away the predators move in.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/rip-turk-lurk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-3139777785550577139Sat, 28 Oct 2017 21:04:00 +00002017-10-28T17:04:27.899-04:00ACA repealaddictionAffordable Care ActhypocrisyMedicaid expansionopioid crisisstate of emergencyTrumpHaving it both waysSo this past week we heard that the president declared America's opioid crisis to be a public health emergency. We can at least agree on that.&nbsp;<br /><br />Too bad he didn't mention anything about<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/us/politics/trump-opioid-crisis.html"> the funding needed to deal with it</a>.<br /><br />In 2015, there were more than 2.5 million Americans with opioid use disorder according to the&nbsp;Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That year, more than 33,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses, which is triple the death rate for 2000. The&nbsp;United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that the US, with less than 5 percent of the world's population, accounts for about a quarter of drug related deaths.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the same person who declared the emergency also wants to destroy the Affordable Care Act, which has brought drug treatment to many Americans.<br /><br />According to the<a href="https://www.blogger.com/The%20ACA%20enables%20states%20to%20address%20the%20opioid%20epidemic%20through%20four%20primary%20mechanisms:%20insurance%20coverage%20expansions,%20regulatory%20insurance%20reforms%20that%20require%20inclusion%20of%20SUD%20treatments,%20enhanced%20parity,%20and%20opportunities%20to%20integrate%20SUD%20treatment%20and%20mainstream%20health%20care."> American Journal of Public Health</a>, the ACA has expanded treatment options through four main mechanisms: expanded coverage, insurance rules requiring substance abuse treatment, enhanced mental health parity, and opportunities for integrating substance abuse treatment with mainstream health care. An estimated 1.6 million Americans received coverage through Medicaid expansion alone.<br /><br />So it seems that what we have here is the declaration of an emergency along with a declaration of war on one of the few things that is actually working to deal with it.<br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/having-it-both-ways.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-4358895677253286200Fri, 27 Oct 2017 00:18:00 +00002017-10-26T20:18:49.209-04:00Alice's Adventures in WonderlandHooplaKafkaLewis CarrolllibrariesliteraturereadingCuriouser and curiouser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n2A0nBx4pf0/WfJ4rcQcZkI/AAAAAAAAFUU/eT7IdIAWusEC22quiaCG0XFOx2r6foYpACLcBGAs/s1600/alice%2Bin%2Bwonderland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="836" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n2A0nBx4pf0/WfJ4rcQcZkI/AAAAAAAAFUU/eT7IdIAWusEC22quiaCG0XFOx2r6foYpACLcBGAs/s320/alice%2Bin%2Bwonderland.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>Earlier this year a friendly librarian changed my life. Again. She told me about this cool online service, <a href="https://www.hoopladigital.com/my/hoopla">Hoopla</a>, which among other things allows you to download audiobooks to your smartphone or other devise.<br /><br />I've always been a big fan of audio books, but used to listen to them in the Paleolithic era on cassettes and in the Neolithic era on compact discs... all of which had an irritating tendency to disappear or get damaged. Thanks to Hoopla I've been able to burn through dozens of books while driving, mowing or other tasks.<br /><br />I took a classic wisdom bath and listened to unabridged recordings of Herodotus, Thucydides and Plutarch. I binged on my beloved (and admittedly crazy Nietzsche). I caught up a bit with my old friend Freud.<br /><br />Just lately, to clear the palate, I listened to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I've been a fan of the Disney movie forever, the more recent version not so much though I like the actors, but it had been a while since I read the book.<br /><br />Think Kafka for kids.<br /><br />It was even more delightfully trippy than I remembered it, dreamlike and full of playing with language and logic.<br /><br />Since we've gone down the rabbit hole lately, with and Orange King instead of a Red Queen screaming "off with their heads," it's even kind of timely. Electronically or otherwise, I highly recommend giving it another look.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/curiouser-and-curiouser.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-1572565979130923670Tue, 24 Oct 2017 16:02:00 +00002017-10-24T12:02:08.370-04:00hypocrisytax cutsTax FoundationsWV Center on Budget and PolicyAll that mattersChristian charity keeps me from referring to the big business friendly Tax Foundation as a racket for the rich. So I won't. But it kind of is. The group rates states on their "tax climate" (translation: good for a few) as if that was a measure of well-being.<br /><br />Today, conservative commentator Hoppy Kercheval <a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2017/10/24/west-virginia-gets-positive-rating-from-the-tax-foundation/">celebrated</a> West Virginia's improved ranking of 19, ahead of our surrounding states. Most of the "improvement" in ranking comes from tax cuts initiated 10 years ago and phased in over time.<br /><br />My friend Sean O'Leary at the WV Center on Budget and Policy summed it all up in a great tweet:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">And all it cost us was an ongoing budget crisis, credit downgrades, a depleted rainy day fund, and major cuts to higher education.</blockquote>Oh yeah, and we have fewer jobs now than then. And we've lost population. And things have gone so dark that we lead the nation in drug overdose deaths. And schools are laying off teachers and support staff. And we cut taxes by more than enough to pay free in-state tuition and fees to all WV students in a state that desperately needs to raise its educational attainment rates.<br /><br />But, hey, the Tax Foundation is happy. That's all that matters, right?<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/all-that-matters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-6541370286275164363Sat, 21 Oct 2017 15:36:00 +00002017-10-21T11:36:42.693-04:00budget cutsfederal budgettax cutsTrump budgetThe two step budget shuffleCongress just voted to engage in a grossly irresponsible two step maneuver which will cut taxes mostly for the rich in the short term and make everyone else pay for it long term. For a quick look at just how the tax cuts will hurt people who need housing, health care, food, and education, check out <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/budget-briefs-the-republican-two-step-fiscal-agenda">these posts</a> by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.<br /><br />For a look at <a href="http://www.wvpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/West-Virginia-FINAL-10.13.17.pdf">what the two step will do to people in West Virginia</a>--and what would make much more sense--check out this report from the Coalition on Human Needs and the WV Center on Budget and Policy.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-two-step-budget-shuffle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-7764801738970505193Wed, 18 Oct 2017 12:57:00 +00002017-10-18T08:57:57.582-04:00American Friends Service Committeejuvenile justicemental healthmental health mattersWV Center on Budget and PolicyMore work to doIn recent years, WV has made progress in juvenile justice reform. We've take a few steps away from locking up kids at $100,000 or more per year for truancy...but there's still more to go. The missing piece is the mental health angle.<br /><br />We as in AFSC&nbsp; and the WV Center on Budget and Policy recently released a report on where things are and where we need to go. Here's <a href="http://www.wvpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/JJ-Report-Release-FF-.pdf">a link to the full report</a>.<br /><br />And here's a summary of the key findings. We hope to work with folks in the coming year to move things along:<br /><br /><br /><br />Every year in West Virginia, around 4,000 juveniles will appear before a judge. Pending the judge’s decision, a juvenile may be given an improvement period to address the behavior, put on probation, referred to a special court, or committed to some form of out-of-home placement. However, the state’s juvenile justice system can be confusing and data is often difficult or impossible to obtain.<br /><br />This report provides an overview of West Virginia’s juvenile justice system, including historical background, recent reforms, and recommendations for improvements. It also suggests looking at the system through a mental health lens could lead to more constructive solutions and positive outcomes for the state’s youth offenders.<br /><br />“When West Virginia confines a young person for a minor, non-violent offense, too often it puts him or her at risk of being drawn more deeply into the criminal justice system,” said Sean O’Leary, West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Interim Executive Director. “While the state has recently embarked on the path of juvenile justice reform, there is still more work to be done. A greater focus on juvenile mental health would help West Virginia build on its recent progress.”<br /><br />Key Findings<br /><br />*West Virginia bucks the national trend with its high confinement rates. It was one of only five states where the rate of detention increased, despite a drop in both crime and population.<br /><br />*In 2013, West Virginia confined juveniles at a rate of 510 per 10,000. By contrast, Massachusetts, with nearly four times the population of West Virginia, had just 393 youth in confinement.<br /><br />*African American youth were nearly three times as likely to be confined as their white counterparts. West Virginia’s youth confinement rate for African Americans was 1.5 times higher than the national average.<br /><br />*West Virginia was second only to Wyoming to confining young females. With a rate of 175 per 100,000, the Mountain State far exceeded the national rate of 47.<br /><br />*Incarceration or other forms of detainment early in life are a major life disruption in the ordinary life course, which can have ripple effects into the future. Prior incarceration was a greater predictor of recidivism than carrying a weapon, gang membership, or poor parental relationships.<br /><br />*In 2013, only one out of every eight committed youth in West Virginia was locked up based on a violent crime, such as homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, or sexual assault.<br /><br />*Community-based programs were more cost-efficient and effective with recidivism rates than DJS facilities.<br /><br />*In 2014, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin convened the West Virginia Intergovernmental Task Force on Juvenile Justice, which brought together legislative and judicial leaders as well as system experts to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the state’s system and to produce policy recommendations.<br />West Virginia’s juvenile justice system has made real progress, however, it continues to face significant problems, particularly in the area of juvenile mental health.<br /><br />*Looking at the system through a mental health lens could lead to more constructive solutions and positive outcomes for youth offenders. Some next steps include: creating a task force to address juvenile mental health; build the infrastructure to help public schools address mental health issues before a student is suspended or sent to court; and a long-term goal should to build an infrastructure which would ensure that students in danger of entering the system are assessed and referred to appropriate community-based programs whenever possible and appropriate.<br /><br />West Virginia’s communities, families, and youth will benefit if the only young people who are confined or detained in out-of-home facilities are those who constitute a threat to the public or themselves.<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-work-to-do.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-2495951383544724715Sun, 15 Oct 2017 18:53:00 +00002017-10-15T14:53:27.013-04:00child nutritionCommunity Eligibility ProvisionCongress. Congressman Evan JenkinsCongressman Alex Mooneyhungerschool breakfastschool lunch programSometimes screwing up the world just isn't enoughApparently screwing up climate, health care and the international situation just isn't enough for some people. Now they want to go after<a href="http://www.dsausa.org/toward_freedom"> meals for school kids </a>in order to make things just a bit cushier for the very rich.<div><br /></div><div>A federal program, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), passed in 2010 by Congress as part of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, made it an option for school boards to offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students in schools where 40 percent or more of children are low income.</div><div><br /></div><div>The idea is to improve child nutrition and academic performance, save schools paperwork and money, and give a break to working parents. And it's worked really well around the country and especially in West Virginia, where 49 counties participate, including 510 schools and over 190,000 students.</div><div><br /></div><div>I recently spoke to a school board member in Pocahontas County, which recently implemented CEP countywide. She said more kids were eating, the county was saving money AND test scores were going up.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's the good news. The bad news is that the majority of House Republicans, including Congressmen Evan Jenkins and <strike>Maryland</strike> Alex Mooney, voted to drastically cut the program, which would end free meals for hundreds of schools and thousands of kids in the Mountain State.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>The Senate is expected to take up the budget next week. So far the cuts aren't part of the Senate plan but these days all threats are best regarded as credible. Senator Manchin has come out against the cuts, while Senator Capito's office has said something like they'll be watching it or whatever.<div><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/sometimes-screwing-up-world-just-isnt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-3662281631205748780Tue, 10 Oct 2017 22:21:00 +00002017-10-10T18:26:48.354-04:00determinismexistentialismfreedomJean-Paul SartreresistanceCondemned to be free<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ofM63M8i-S8/Wd1GrubC6mI/AAAAAAAAFUA/-2LPjsVxQJMeJ7RokEqQ21Udl9VQXHbZgCLcBGAs/s1600/sartre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="220" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ofM63M8i-S8/Wd1GrubC6mI/AAAAAAAAFUA/-2LPjsVxQJMeJ7RokEqQ21Udl9VQXHbZgCLcBGAs/s1600/sartre.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />When I was quite a bit younger, I went through an existentialist phase. It wasn't all that uncommon at the time. I'm not sure I ever entirely emerged from it.<br /><br />Despite all the weight of apparent evidence for scientific determinism, I still have a core belief that however much our lives are conditioned by external and internal forces there is some small residue of choice if not in outcomes then at least in our reaction to them. And whatever decision I make or allow to be made, I can't help but feel it could have been done just a little bit differently. Or maybe a lot. And that the future is at least in part unwritten. Or maybe a lot.<br /><br />The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who to be fair was not all that admirable a guy, famously stated that we are condemned to be free.<br /><br />Apropos of nothing, some words of Sartre's have been on my mind lately. In essay he wrote for <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/paris-alive-jean-paul-sartre-on-world-war-ii/379555/">The Atlantic</a> in 1944, shortly after the liberation of Paris by the allies, he wrote that:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;"Never were we freer than under the German occupation. We had lost all our rights, and first of all our right to speak. They insulted us to our faces. ... They deported us en masse. ... And because of all this we were free."</blockquote>Obviously, he didn't mean the good guys then could do or get whatever they wanted. But extreme times made the weight of free decisions--to resist or to collaborate, to hold out a little longer under despair or interrogation or torture-- a little more stark.<br /><br />That kind of freedom can be terrible and terrifying.<br /><br />These are pretty dark times. While a lot is beyond our immediate control, the weight of our decisions is getting heavier.<br /><br />In that sense, we're pretty free right now too.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/condemned-to-be-free.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-3803421975226065947Fri, 06 Oct 2017 13:46:00 +00002017-10-06T09:46:38.836-04:00Children's Health Insurance ProgramCHIPCHIP reauthorizationhealth careSenator CapitoSenator ManchinLeaving kids behind?While congress has been busy doing whatever it is it does lately, one thing it didn't do is reauthorize the <a href="https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/health/wv-kids-covered-by-chip-won-t-immediately-lose-coverage/article_aed4cc93-7676-553f-a9b1-7501b36926d5.html">Children's' Health Insurance Program,</a> which provides coverage to millions of children in working families nationwide and to around 38,000 children in West Virginia. The deadline to reauthorize the program was Sept. 30.<br /><br />To their credit, <a href="http://www.wvva.com/story/36501521/2017/10/Monday/manchin-calls-congress-decision-to-end-chip-funding-shameful">both of WV's senators </a>support the program and were disappointed by the failure to reauthorize the program. Senator Manchin had this to say:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">“It is shameful that Congress is so dysfunctional that we cannot even manage to reauthorize funding for a program that ensures 9 million children across America have access to health insurance. More than 21,000 West Virginia children are enrolled in CHIP and to let this funding expire is nothing short of negligent. The least we can do is put partisanship aside to protect our children, the most vulnerable among us. In the coming days, I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure no child in West Virginia loses access to healthcare.”&nbsp;</blockquote>And Senator Capito said this:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">“I understand the benefits the Children’s Health Insurance Program offers to many students in West Virginia. This is why for two decades, dating back to my time in the West Virginia State Legislature, I have championed this important program and support ongoing efforts to reauthorize it. The legislation to reauthorize CHIP that is advancing in the Senate has strong, bipartisan support."</blockquote>Despite the missed deadline, the bill has recently <a href="https://khn.org/morning-breakout/chip-funding-measure-passes-through-committees-but-its-not-smooth-sailing-ahead-for-bill/">made some progress</a> in the senate, although it's a long way from being a done deal.&nbsp;<br /><br />Here's hoping this gets fixed before millions of kids get thrown under the&nbsp; metaphorical bus. This might be the time to make some more noise.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/leaving-kids-behind.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-3181639428213932996Wed, 04 Oct 2017 18:38:00 +00002017-10-04T14:38:26.952-04:00AFSCbad newsdisastersfake newshoaxesLas VegasMedia UncoveredOn the MediaThe Breaking News Consumer's Handbookthe mediaThe art of watching bad news...or notThe cascade of bad news, human-generated and otherwise, has been pretty overwhelming lately. The two main Dylan songs going through my head lately are "Everything is Broken" and "World Gone Wrong."<br /><br />Today I ran across some useful information that might help in dealing with bad news in the media. For one thing, being glued to the set while ill **** is going down can cause serious and acute stress. <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/study-media-coverage-boston-marathon-sandy-hook-newtown-trauma/">One study</a> conducted in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing found that the stress reactions of news junkies glued to the TV were as bad or worse than those of people actually much closer to the real event.<br /><br />A good guide to dealing with breaking bad news can be found in the On The Media blog's resource, <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-pdf/">The Breaking News Consumer's Handbook</a>, which starts with the reminder that early news reports are likely to get things wrong. Among other points is a warning to be skeptical of anonymous sources and hoaxes. There's also good advice about not uncritically retweeting or otherwise posting information that may be unreliable.<br /><br />Finally, here are <a href="https://www.afsc.org/blogs/media-uncovered/overwhelmed-news-how-to-cope-media-coverage-las-vegas-shooting">some suggestions</a> from the American Friends Service Committee's <a href="https://www.afsc.org/blogs/media-uncovered">Media Uncovered project..</a>&nbsp;Here's one suggestion: "Turn off the TV, put down your phone, and do something else."&nbsp; The bad news will still be there. But rather than being glued to the set (or phone) it might be good to take some time to reflect, to spend time with those you care about, consider taking positive action, and send your best to those suffering from the crisis at hand.<br /><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-art-of-watching-bad-newsor-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-3609297707485046039Tue, 26 Sep 2017 23:04:00 +00002017-09-26T19:04:43.563-04:00authoritarianismBanduradehumanizationdeindividuationevilfascismFreudmoral disengagementNietzschePhilip ZimbardoReinhold NiebuhrSolzhenitsynGazing into the abyss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M5S2_NYD7es/WcrcjlC7W7I/AAAAAAAAFTw/OfuTtHIFRFc4B8NorFR1889jf8ViJN5jwCLcBGAs/s1600/abyss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="625" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M5S2_NYD7es/WcrcjlC7W7I/AAAAAAAAFTw/OfuTtHIFRFc4B8NorFR1889jf8ViJN5jwCLcBGAs/s320/abyss.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It’s comforting to think that good and evil people are completely different, and that “our” side, whatever that is, is all good, while evil belongs exclusively to the other.<br /><br />Too bad this is a dangerous illusion.<br /><br />As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn put it in “The Gulag Archipelago,” his study of Soviet punishment camps:<br /><br />“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. ... During the life of any heart this line keeps changing place; sometimes it is squeezed one way by exuberant evil and sometimes it shifts to allow enough space for good to flourish.<br /><br />“One and the same human being is, at various ages, under various circumstances, a totally different human being. At times he is close to being a devil, at times to sainthood.”<br /><br />He quotes a Russian proverb that, “From good to evil is one quaver,” noting it works the other way, too.<br /><br />That’s a good summary of social science on how ordinarily good people sometimes do terrible things.<br /><br />Someone who explored this field for decades is Philip Zimbardo, creator of the infamous Stanford Prison experiment and author of “The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil.”<br /><br />He argues that we tend to attribute evil actions to the individual dispositions of people who do them but ignore the powerful forces situations exert on individuals. Further, powerful people create systems that put decent people in situations in which they do things they otherwise never would have.<br /><br />He warns that we often have a dangerously inflated notion of our ability to resist evil influences.<br /><br />“For many, that belief of personal power to resist powerful situational and systemic forces is little more than a reassuring illusion of invulnerability,” he wroted. “Paradoxically, maintaining that illusion only serves to make one more vulnerable to manipulation by failing to be sufficiently vigilant against attempts of undesired influence subtly practiced on them.”<br /><br />Two powerful toxins that can unleash the beast in any of us are dehumanization and deindividuation.<br /><br />Zimbardo: “Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil. Dehumanization is like a cortical cataract that clouds one’s thinking and fosters the perception that other people are less than human. It makes some people come to see those others as enemies deserving of torment, torture, and annihilation.”<br /><br />Dehumanization happens at an individual level, but it is most dangerous when the powerful create systems that label and target some groups as being less than human.<br /><br />When we dehumanize others, another process that kicks in is what social psychologist Albert Bandura called “moral disengagement,” when we convince ourselves that some people are unworthy of empathy and compassion.<br /><br />Then it’s on.<br /><br />Deindividuation happens when we identify so closely with a group that we lose our sense of individual responsibility. This happens in organized or informal ways. When countries send people off to war, the warriors are often deindividualized with shaved heads, uniforms and drills that emphasize following orders and acting as a unit. It can also happen in informal groups like mobs and gangs. Things like masks and hoods can add to the effect.<br /><br />This is most dangerous at the systemic level, particularly when it goes hand in hand with dehumanizing some vulnerable group via ideology and propaganda. Throw in our tendency to conform and obey authority, and you have a pretty lethal brew. Signals from above give permission to abuse those below.<br /><br />The scary side to group behavior has long been recognized. Sigmund Freud noted that, in groups, emotionalism rises while rationality falls (think political rallies, rock concerts, some sporting events).<br /><br />He believed that when groups fall under the spell of a charismatic authority, the people in it regress to a more primitive mental state. He wrote, “It is not so remarkable that we should see an individual in a group doing or approving things which he would have avoided in the normal conditions of life.”<br /><br />The theologian Reinhold Niebuhr even titled one of his books “Moral Man and Immoral Society.” He didn’t have any delusions about the flaws of individuals, but rather noted that, “In every human group there is less reason to guide and to check impulse, less capacity for self-transcendence, less ability to comprehend the needs of others and therefore more unrestrained egoism than the individuals, who compose the group, reveal in their personal relationships.”<br /><br />After all, most individuals have consciences. But often the conscience of a group is a dissenting minority accused of disloyalty.<br /><br />We live in are dangerous times. Polarization runs high. There are calls for dehumanization coming from high places around the world. America may be on its own dark journey, although it’s unclear how far it will go. I’m consoled by the thought that many other nations have gone through dark times and come out on the other side.<br /><br />I hope we step back from the edge of the cliff and resist the temptation to see the other, whoever it may be, as some kind of monster.<br /><br />As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”<br /><br />(This ran as<a href="http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazette-op-ed-commentaries/20170924/rick-wilson-group-mentality-can-lead-to-dehumanization-gazette"> an op-ed in the Gazette-Mail</a> a day or so ago.)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/09/gazing-into-abyss.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-6052437255191203133Sun, 24 Sep 2017 20:47:00 +00002017-09-24T16:47:15.955-04:00ACA repealAffordable Care Acthealth careSenator John McCainSenator Shelley Moore CapitoMore of a tweetWell, a Republican senator had the courage to break with the leadership in order to save health care coverage for over 200,000 West Virginians. Too bad the senator in question was from Arizona.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/09/more-of-tweet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22463475.post-1059539634883448447Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:36:00 +00002017-09-20T15:18:50.943-04:00extractive industriesFuture Fundnatural resourcesNorwayseverance taxessovereign wealth fundVikingsWhat if?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ceqYawizHBQ/WcK-8QM7XkI/AAAAAAAAFTg/oButEA6SvNwYq0EtGiBXr3zojrg1TsXZQCLcBGAs/s1600/vikings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ceqYawizHBQ/WcK-8QM7XkI/AAAAAAAAFTg/oButEA6SvNwYq0EtGiBXr3zojrg1TsXZQCLcBGAs/s320/vikings.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><i>The descendants of the Vikings figured out a thing or two.</i><br /><br />Not so long ago, I, along with lots of good folks and a very impressive coalition, &nbsp;spent a good bit of time and effort trying to get the state of West Virginia to pass legislation creating a Future Fund. This would have involved setting aside a portion of state severance tax revenue, allowing it to build, and using the interest as a permanent source of wealth for the state.<br /><br />The bill passed in 2014. Ish. Unfortunately, it was sabotaged in the House of Delegates (at a time when Democrats held the majority in both houses) and basically made unworkable for the foreseeable future. Since there, there's been a political earthquake or three and a big dip in coal production and gas prices.<br /><br />I'm still hopeful that the Future Fund can be made workable at some point. And I can't help thinking about how different West Virginia would have been today if one had been set up years ago.<br /><br />Case in point: Norway. When that country experienced an oil boom, those socialistic Vikings were smart enough to set aside a portion of their revenue for pensions and public expenses. Apparently they were smart enough to figure out that this stuff you take out of the ground doesn't grow back (at least for several million years).<br /><br />Today, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/19/investing/norway-pension-fund-trillion-dollars/index.html">that fund is worth $1 trillion.</a> Yes, that would be the number with 12 zeros. It's worth about $190,000 for each resident of Norway.<br /><br />I know there's no way WV's version would &nbsp;have been anywhere near that even if we started decades ago. But we would have been in better shape than we are now.<br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Visit the Goat Rope at http://goatrope.blogspot.com.</div>http://goatrope.blogspot.com/2017/09/what-if.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (El Cabrero)0